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00:00The leaders of India, China and South Africa have arrived in Kazan for the BRICS summit
00:06hosted by Vladimir Putin.
00:11Short-sighted? Member states want to save money on exchange and research programs.
00:23The European Parliament approved an initiative to issue a 35 billion euro loan for Ukraine
00:29backed by frozen Russian assets.
00:31The plan received 518 votes in favour, 56 against and 61 abstentions in Strasbourg
00:38on Tuesday.
00:39It will be part of a framework that will make future revenues from Russian central bank
00:43assets frozen in the EU available to Ukraine.
00:47Some 210 billion euros in assets have been held in the European Union territory since
00:52the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
01:02Russia appears to be trying to reduce tensions with South Korea following reports of intensified
01:08North Korea cooperation, including the intelligence warnings that North Korean troops have been
01:14deployed to Russia for training.
01:17What do we know?
01:19According to Ukraine's military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, the first group of
01:232,600 soldiers will be deployed to Russia's Kursk region, where Ukraine is holding significant
01:32territories following the incursion from the beginning of August.
01:36Ukrainian forces recently advanced on the western side of the Ukrainian salient in Kursk
01:41region amid continued fighting within and west of the salient.
01:46Budanov said that close to 11,000 North Korean troops are in Russia and will be ready to
01:52fight in Ukraine by the 1st of November.
01:55According to South Korean intelligence, North Korea has sent 1,500 soldiers to Russia for
02:02training, describing the move as the first step in the secretive state's military involvement
02:07in Moscow's war against Ukraine.
02:10Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed that Russia-North Korea cooperation, quote,
02:15should not cause concern to other states, and that information about the alleged presence
02:20of North Korean troops in Russia may be, quote, contradictory.
02:25The Kremlin's attempts to assure South Korea that its cooperation with North Korea is not
02:29a threat to Seoul suggest that Moscow remains very concerned about the prospect of Seoul's
02:35potential pivot towards providing Ukraine with necessary military support, given that
02:41South Korea is one of the top ten arms exporters in the world.
02:52The leaders of India, South Africa and China arrived in the Russian city of Kazan for the
02:57BRIC summit, which will be hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
03:02China's Xi Jinping, India's Narendra Modi and South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa were greeted
03:07by an honor guard and platters of Russian delicacies when they touched down at Kazan's
03:12airport.
03:13After reportedly suffering a head injury at his home, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio
03:18Lula da Silva cancelled his plans to attend the summit, but will attend by video link.
03:24The original BRICS countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are joined by
03:29newcomers Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which were
03:35added to the alliance in January.
03:38UN Secretary-General António Guterres is also set to attend the summit, a decision
03:43blasted by Ukraine's foreign ministry in light of Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
03:49The summit is expected to be a huge success for Russia, with 32 countries confirming participation
03:55and more than 20 heads of state attending.
03:58This defies predictions that the war in Ukraine and an international arrest warrant would
04:03turn Vladimir Putin into a pariah.
04:10Austria's President has tasked incumbent Chancellor Karl Nemer with forming a new government after
04:17all other parties refused to work with the leader of the far-right Freedom Party, FBO.
04:23President Alexander Van der Bellen said on Tuesday that he had asked Nemer to immediately
04:28enter into negotiations with the center-left Social Democrats.
04:59Whoever leads the next Austrian government will need to build a coalition to have a parliamentary
05:05majority.
05:06The far-right Freedom Party won last month's election with 28.8% of the vote, the first
05:12time in its history.
05:13The EU's Erasmus Plus exchange program and its Horizon research and innovation program
05:28could face budget cuts in 2025.
05:32The EU Council, representing national governments, has proposed a reduction of 295 million euros
05:38for Erasmus Plus.
05:42But now an Erasmus Plus ambassador, Maiva, studied for a semester in Colombia with a
05:46monthly scholarship of 800 euros.
05:49According to her, a funding cut could prevent some students who would like to go on an exchange
05:53and make the selection process more competitive.
06:12The EU Council also proposes to allocate 400 million euros less than originally planned
06:24by the European Commission for the Horizon research and innovation program.
06:30Research stakeholders fear that the freeze on funding will have a negative impact on
06:34innovation in Europe and competitiveness in the EU.
06:40Europe has to have the place that it was in the real world.
06:47We have to be very demanding with competitiveness and innovation without competitiveness can
06:52be real.
06:56The Council wants to reduce these expenses to give priority to support for Ukraine or
07:01even to recoup expenses from the stimulus package set up to deal with the economic shock
07:06of the Covid-19 pandemic.
07:08The European Parliament is likely to fight to maintain the Erasmus and Horizon funds.
07:14It's something typical, the European Parliament always try to leverage the bad deals and the
07:19European Council always cuts.
07:21So for us it's a mistake.
07:25After a vote in plenary on Wednesday, MEPs will have to reach an agreement with the Council
07:30to finalise the budget before the end of the year.
07:39This statue on a quiet residential street in Berlin is at the centre of an international
07:47row.
07:48It memorialises women, mostly from Korea, who were forced to have sex with Japanese
07:54soldiers during World War II, known as comfort women.
07:59Japan has called for the statue to be brought down.
08:02Some politicians in Berlin are siding with Tokyo.
08:06The local Korean NGO behind the memorial, known as the Statue of Peace, says it will
08:11sue the local district of Mita to keep it in place.
08:16The group says it's not just about defending the rights of Korean women.
08:22In the history I think every woman can imagine what can be happened in the wartime if you
08:30are not protected and the soldiers are coming and raping you.
08:35So every woman can identify with the Statue of Peace.
08:42The memorial was put up four years ago.
08:44Japan has been raising the issue with the German government as well as local officials.
08:50The local district said that the statue needs to be taken down by the end of this month,
08:56setting time limits for temporary art in public places.
09:00The district told Euronews that Japanese and Korean officials have visited its office,
09:06threatening to worsen relations with Germany.
09:09The district says that there was a questioning of aid to Ukraine as well as a possible termination
09:15of the sister city relationship between Tokyo and Berlin.
09:20Japan says that it never suggested ending the relationship.
09:25In a press release in May, the mayor of Berlin called the statue a one-sided portrayal after
09:31a meeting in Tokyo with the Japanese foreign minister.
09:35Berlin's local government told Euronews that it is talking to the district and federal
09:39government to replace the statue with a more general memorial for women who face sexual
09:45violence during conflicts.
09:47It also stated that it will be expanding its relationship with Tokyo.
09:52An expert on German-Japanese relations said the government is prioritizing its economic
09:58and security ties with Japan over South Korea.
10:03Both partners should be treated quite equally and so far this case of the Comfort Women
10:11statue in Berlin lacks a bit of that cautious and balanced approach.
10:18A source with the foreign office told Euronews that freedom of opinion and of the arts are
10:23fundamental to Germany's constitution.
10:26However, they said that what happens with the statue is up to the district and the foreign
10:31office cannot provide instructions on the subject.
10:35Japan's embassy told Euronews that the statue serves as a symbol to denounce its country
10:41and that the memorial has caused unrest in Berlin.
10:46Like the mayor of Berlin, the embassy also called the statue one-sided.
10:51A petition arguing to keep the statue up has garnered 3,000 signatures.
10:57It's not only our wish, but many people who are living in this area, they want to keep
11:07the Statue of Peace.
11:08Authorities in Bulgaria say they have seized a large quantity of counterfeit banknotes
11:20after dismantling an operation for its production.
11:23The fake money with denominations of 50 Bulgarian leva, 50 US dollars and 500 euros had been
11:30released into circulation.
11:32According to the investigators, the superfake banknotes were also seized in some European
11:37Union countries.
11:40Investigators called it a very serious attack against the entire financial system of Bulgaria
11:45and the European Union.